Many people watched the lift-off of the space shuttle Columbia on March 21, 1982. But none watched more closely than eighteen-year-old Ted, as Ted’s insects were on board the shuttle.

The Shuttle Student Involvement Program invited students to make a science experiment. The experiment would be done by astronauts on the space shuttle.

Ted had always been interested in space and flight. Insect flight especially interested him. Ted noticed that insects need gravity to take off and land. They need gravity to fly in a straight line. But in space, there is no gravity. Could insects fly in zero gravity? That is what Ted wanted to find out.

Ted made an experiment called “Insect in Flight Motion Study”. He entered his experiment and soon news came that it was a winner.

A large team of scientists and engineers helped Ted get his experiment ready to fly. There were many questions to be answered first. What kind of insects would Ted use in his experiment? The insects would have to be strong enough to live on the shuttle for nine days without much food. What kind of container would hold the insects? Would the insects die during the shuttle flight?

After months of hard work, the “insectronauts” were chosen. A group of moths, flies, and honeybees were put into a special box and put onto the space shuttle. When Columbia flew into space, it was carrying insect passengers.

On March 24, astronauts Gordon Fullerton and Jack Lousma took out the box that held the insects. They began filming the insects with a special video camera.

When the space shuttle landed Ted was able to watch the video film of insects. Just as he thought, most of the insects did have trouble flying in zero gravity. The flies did well. But the moths’ flight seemed “uncontrolled”. They would often just hang in the air. The bees had the most trouble. They couldn’t fly at all! The film showed bees spinning around in all directions. Others were just floating about in the box.

Ted learned the answer to his question about insects’ flight in zero gravity. But he also learned a lot more. He learned about the hard work needed in making a successful experiment.

1.What does the underlined sentence “it was a winner” mean?

A.Ted could fly in space.                    B.Ted won a prize.

C.Ted’s experiment was accepted.           D.Ted won in a race.

2.What did Ted want to find out?

A.Whether the insects could fly in space.

B.Whether the insects could fly in a straight line.

C.Whether the insects could land after flying for a while.

D.Whether the insects could take off after resting for a while.

3.Of the three kinds of insects sent into space, which one flew worst in zero gravity?

A.The flies.          B.The honeybees.     C.The insects.        D.The moths.

4.Who did the experiment?

A.Ted himself.

B.Ted’s friend.

C.A large team of scientists and engineers.

D.Two astronauts on the space shuttle.

5.How did Ted learn the answer to his question about insects’ flight in zero gravity?

A.By asking the scientists and engineers.

B.By studying a book written by the astronauts.

C.By going into space and watching the insects’ flight himself.

D.By watching the video film made by the astronauts.

 

Astronauts on shorter shuttle missions often work very long days. Tasks are scheduled so tightly that break times are often used to finish the day's work. This type of schedule is far too demanding for long missions on the International Space Station (ISS). ISS crewmembers usually live in space for at least a quarter of a year. They work five days on and two days off to mimic the normal way they do things on Earth as much as possible. Weekends give the crew valuable time to rest and do a few hours of housework. They can communicate with family and friends by email, internet phone and through private video conferences.

While astronauts cannot go to a baseball game or a movie in orbit, there are many familiar activities that they can still enjoy. Before a mission, the family and friends of each ISS crewmember put together a collection of family photos, messages, videos and reading material for the astronauts to look at when they will be floating 370 kilometers above the Earth. During their mission, the crew also receives care packages with CDs, books, magazines, photos and letters. And as from early 2010, the internet became available on the ISS, giving astronauts the chance to do some "web surfing" in their personal time. Besides relaxing with these more common entertainments, astronauts can simply enjoy the experience of living in space.

Many astronauts say that one of the most relaxing things to do in space is to look out the window and stare at the universe and the Earth. Both the shuttle and the ISS circle the planet several times each day, and every moment offers a new view of the Earth's vast land mass and oceans.

1.What does the word "mimic" in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A.copy             B.find              C.change           D.lose

2.Which of the following best describes the families of the astronauts on the ISS?

A.They are impatient and annoyed.           B.They are worried and upset.

C.They are caring and thoughtful.             D.They are excited and curious.

3.In the final paragraph, the author shows that astronauts ________.

A.love to see the Earth from space            B.find living in space a bit boring and tiring

C.regard space life as common               D.get more pleasure in space than on the Earth

4.The passage mainly discusses how astronauts ________.

A.work for longer missions in space           B.spend their free time in space

C.observe the Earth from space              D.connect with people on the Earth

 

Saturday 28 April, 2001: Dennis Tito was setting off on his holiday. Mr. Tito’s journey was  certainly unusual! So was the transport he chose, and the price of his trip.

The 60-year-old multi-millionaire from New York was sitting on board a Russian spaceship.  He was on a journey to the International Space Station. It might have been a routine trip for the  two astronauts who were traveling with him, but for him it was certainly no ordinary journey.  Dennis Tito was the first tourist ever in space, and he had paid the sum of $20 million to go there.  As the spacecraft left the earth’s atmosphere, Tito drank a glass of fruit juice to celebrate and  looked down at the earth’s blue-green surface. Two minutes later, he was sick. Luckily it was  only a minor problem. He soon recovered, and from then on enjoyed a smooth journey. When he  arrived at the space station, there was a big smile on his face. “A great trip!” he commented. “I  love space.”

For a long time space travel was something for heroes. But all this is going to change.  Companies like ProSpace are investing large amounts of money in space travel. They want space  and space travel to belong to the public, not just governments. There are other plans, like voyages  through space from one side of the world to the other. Maybe we will be able to depart from New  York at nine o’clock in the morning, and arrive an hour later-- in Tokyo! Such a schedule would  allow the business traveler to return to New York on the same day, and still have eight hours for a  meeting!

1.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A.Business Travelers

B.Space Tourists

C.A Space Exploration

D.A Frightening Adventure

2.According to the passage, Dennis Tito   .

A.enjoyed his trip very much

B.was too sick to eat anything in space

C.suffered a lot during the trip

D.didn’t think the trip was worthwhile

3.Which of the following statements is tree according to the passage?

A.Tito was the first American tourist in space.

B.Tito contributed all of his wealth to his space trip.

C.Tito visited the Russian Space Station during his trip.

D.Space travel has become a routine for Tito since then.

4.It can be expected from the passage that   .

A.space travel will belong to the public instead of governments

B.airplanes will some day reach the speed of space vehicles

C.can will be able to circle the earth within less than an hour

D.travel between two places on earth will be made through space

 

Now satellites are helping to forecast(预报)the weather. They are in space, and they can reach any part of the world. The satellites take pictures of the atmosphere(大气), because this is where the weather forms(形成). They send these pictures to the weather stations. So meteorologists(气象学家)can see the weather of any part of the world. From the pictures, the scientists can often say how the weather will change.

 Today, nearly five hundred weather stations in sixty countries receive satellite pictures. When they receive new pictures, the meteorologists compare(比较)them with earlier ones. Perhaps they may find that the clouds have changed during the last few hours. This may mean that the weather on the ground may soon change, too. In their next weather forecast, the meteorologists can say this.

 So the weather satellites are a great help to the meteorologists. Before satellites were invented, the scientists could forecast the weather for about 24 or 48 hours. Now they can make good forecasts for three or five days. Soon, perhaps, they may be able to forecast the weather for a week or more ahead(提前).

1.Satellites travel _____________.

A. in space               B. in the atmosphere

C. above the ground       D. above space

2. Why do we use the weather satellites to take pictures of the atmosphere? Because __________.

A. the weather satellites can do it easily

B. clouds form there

C. the weather forms there

D. the pictures can forecast the weather

3.Meteorologists forecast the weather __________.

A. when they have received satellite pictures

B. after they have compared new satellite pictures with earlier ones

C. before they received satellite pictures

D. during they study satellite pictures

4.The main(主要的)idea of this passage is that satellites are now used in _________.

A. taking pictures of the atmosphere

B. receiving pictures of the atmosphere

C. doing other work in many ways

D. weather forecasting

 

Agence Rrance-Presse--- French doctors this week carried out the world’s first operation on a human in zero gravity, using a specially adapted aircraft to create conditions in space.

During a three-hour flight from Bordeaux in southwest France, the team of surgeons and anesthetists (麻醉师) successfully removed a benign tumor (良性瘤) from the forearm of a 46-year-old volunteer. The experiment was part of a program backed by the European Space Agency to develop techniques for performing robotic surgery aboard the International Space Station or at a future Moon base.

“Now we know that a human being can be operated on in space without too many difficulties,” says the team leader Dr. Dominique Martin.

Under normal ground conditions, the operation would be performed under a local anesthetic. Without gravity, the surgeon’s work is harder and the patient’s body reacts differently. Blood doesn’t pump in the same way.

The custom-designed Airbus 300 aircraft performed a series of parabolic swoops (抛物线飞行), each creating between 20 seconds of weightlessness. The process was repeated 32 times.

Fixed inside a custom-made operating block, three surgeons and two anesthetists worked during these periods, with their instruments held in place with magnets around the patient’s bed. The next part of the program is to carry out a remote-controlled operation using a robot controlled from the ground by satellite. This experiment should take place within a year, Martin says.

Anesthetist Dr. Laurent de Coninek says that zero-gravity surgery offers huge promise for space exploration, although it would at first be limited to treating simple injuries. Today more than 400 people have already traveled into space. The chances of injuries occurring during missions will become even greater and to bring a wounded person back to the earth for treatment is both risky for them and expensive.

67. What would be the best title for the test?

A. A Special Operation for Doctors            B. First Operation on the Moon

C. World’s First Operation in Zero Gravity      D. An Important Experiment for Doctors

68. What’s the purpose of the operation?

A. To have an experiment on space operation.    B. To cure the patient.

C. To do it at the request of the patient.               D. To reduce the danger of operation on earth.

69. It is difficult for doctors to do operations in space because________________.

A. the patient’s illness will be more serious           B. the patient has no feeling about pain

C. the patient’s body reacts differently               D. the patient’s flood will stop flowing

70. The last paragraph mainly wants to tell readers________________.

A. there are many people injured in space           B. it is necessary to do the experiment

C. it is risky to travel in space                             D. there is no need to bring patients in space to the earth

 

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